Door latch



N. ABRAHAMs 1,961,472

DOORLATGH Filed Deo. 14, 1951 acters Patented June 5, 1934 UNITED STATES "PATENT OFFCE 4 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in a door latch, and is particularly intended for the latching of the doors of dwellings and the like ,so as to permit of a limited amount of opening movement oi the door with the latch in operative position, and so constructed that the latch may be manually released from its latching engagement whenever it is desired to fully open the door.

This invention has among its objects, the profduction of a latch of the kind described, which shall be neat and attractive in appearance, simple and sturdy in construction, compact, reliable, and ei'licient and satisfactory for use wherever found applicable.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a latch for doors, and which will be substantially concealed between the door and its ,frameavork when the door is in fully closed position, and which will not scratch or otherwise mar the woodwork during its ordinary usage.

Another object of my invention is to construct a latch of the kind described, so that the same ,can not be released from its latching engage- `ment accidentally, but upon the contrary must be manually released.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a door latch of the kind described, which shall occupy a minimum of space, and which may be positioned substantially entirely between a free edge of the door and that edge of the framework opposed thereto.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, from the disclosures herein given.

To this end, my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of 'parts herein shown and described, and the uses mentioned, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, wherein like reference charindicate like or corresponding parts throughout the views,

Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional view, with portions in plan, of the latch in place and the door opened as far as the latch will permit;

v Figure 2 is a horizontal View of the latch and the related parts of the door and frame, when the door is fully closed;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the latch mounted in place and in fully extended position, the dotted line position after disengagement from the door being also shown;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially along the line 4 4 of Fig. 3; and

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, A represents a door of any desired or suitable size or shape, and which may be hinged as at the vertically extending edge 1, to the enclosing frame-work 2 3, the edge 3 of the frame-work indicating that portion co-operating with and opposed to the edge 4 of the door, said edge i being parallel to the edge l and which may be termed the free edge of the door.

Various devices have heretofore been employed for permitting of a limited opening movement of the door relative to the frame-work, as by chains or the like, but these means are unsightly and do not harmonize with the interior finish, as well as sometimes damaging said finish, but my improved device will be substantially entirely concealed when the door is closed, as will be more clearly hereinafter set forth.

The latch may be made of a plurality of preferably flat, elongated plates or links, as for example the pair of links 5 and 6 pivotally interconnected at the adjacent ends so as to be foldable one over the other in superimposed relationship.

The edge surface of the door-fram 3 is re cessed to provide an elongated opening 7 inwardly therefrom and extending substantially vertically as shown most clearly in Fig. 3, this recess having an inwardly extending deeper portion 8 at a point along its length, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A liner, as of metal, is preferably placed Within said recess to provide the box or chamber open at the side edge of the framework.

It is also to be noted that the recess is provided with a plate 9 not parallel to the side edge 3 of the framework, but upon the contrary, is at an angle thereto, so as to lie substantially in the plane parallel to the free edge 4 of the door when the door is at the end of its limited movement, as shown in Fig. 1. An opening 10 is provided through the plate 9 to provide access into the deepened chamber 8. Y

One end ofthe interconnected link-work is connected to the frame-work, as by the pin or projection 11 carried by the end of the link 5 and having an enlarged head 12. The pin 11 is sufciently smaller in diameter than the opening 10 so as to loosely enter therethrough and have play therebetween radially of the pin, but the enlarged head 12 will prevent the pin from being completely withdrawn through the opening 10, as the pin moves lengthwise through said opening with the opening and closing movement of the latched door.

A plate 13 is mounted flush in the free edge 4 of the door and the free end of the link 6 is pivotally connected thereto, and providing a limited independent movement therebetween when it is desired to release the latch, as by a pin in one of the co-operating parts and an elongated slot in the other. In this instance the pin 14 having the radially enlarged head 15 is carried by the plate 13, and the link 6 is provided with a longitudinally extending or elongated slot 16 having an enlarged opening 17 at some suitable point of its length, as adjacent one end, this enlarged opening being of suicient size to permit the enlarged head of the pin to loosely and easily pass therethrough, this head being too large to pass through any other portion of the slot.

A closure 13 is provided to normally keep this enlarged portion of the slot closed and to prevent any accidental release of the link from the pin, said closure being manually operable to permit passage of the pin therethrough when the opening is brought into registry with the pin.

When the door is fully closed, as shown in Fig. 2, the links will be folded together or superimposed as shown in full lines in said ligure, the bolt or pin 11 being in its outermost position of travel. As the door is moved to open position the links will unfold and the pin 11 will be moved inwardly into its recess 8, the links substantially always being in planes parallel to the plane of the free edge 4 of the door.

At the end of this limited opening movement of the door, the enlarged head of the pin 14 will overlie the closure element 18 (as shown in Fig. 5) and prevent manual release of the latch from the door to permit of full opening of the latter. In order to release the latch to permit of further opening of the door, the door and latch must be moved slightly relative to one another so that the enlarged head l5 no longer overlies the edge of the element 18, whereupon the latter may be actuated to uncover the opening 17, and the parts then brought together so that the pin 14 is in registry with said opening and the link can then be released therefrom and be completely free of the door.

The links may then be swung up into the recess or receptacle as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and may be held therein against displacement by any suitablemeans, as by the spring nger 19 frictionally engaging the same.

Having thus described my invention it is obvious that various immaterial modications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, arrangement, construction, and combination of parts herein shown and set forth, except as limited by the state of the art to which this invention appertains, or the claims hereto appended.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A door latch comprising links foldably connected, and pivotally connected at one end to a door-frame, the other end having an elongated slot therethrough enlarged adjacent one end, a pin on said door and freely passing through said enlarged portion of the slot, and manually operable means for normally closing said enlarged opening to prevent disengagement of the pin through said slot except when said manually operable means is moved to its pin-releasing position.

2. A door latch comprising links foldably connected together, means for pivotally connecting one of said links to the frame-work of the door, the other link provided with an elongated opening therethrough and enlarged at one point, a pin carried by the door and having a projecting head that will pass through said enlarged portion of the slot but not through the remainder of the slot, and means carried by said last-mentioned link and normally closing said enlarged portion of the slot to release said link from the pin in order to fully open the door, said lastmentioned means being locked against movement by the projecting head of said pin when the door is in its latched position and opened to the full limit thereof.

3. A door latch for limiting the opening movement of a door relative to its frame and comprising means connecting the free edge of said door and the adjacent frame-work, and means carried by said first-mentioned means and inoperable when the door is either at fully closed or at full limited opening for manually releasing said first-mentioned means to permit full opening of the door, both of said means being substantially entirely concealed between the door and frame when the door is in closed position.

4. A door latch comprising means pivotally connected between a door and door-frame and having a slot enlarged adjacent one end, a pin projecting from said door and freely passing through the enlargement of said slot, and manually operable means for normally closing said enlargement of the opening to prevent disengagement of the pin through said slot except when said means is moved to pin-releasing position.

NATHAN ABRAHAMS.

Sill 

